EMILIA’S POV

For a moment, it felt like time forgot how to move.

Maximus’s gaze locked with mine, steady and unreadable, but I could feel something behind his eyes—something heavy, buried deep, clawing to be seen. He didn’t speak, didn’t blink. Just looked at me like he wanted me to understand something without words.

I waited.

My chest rose and fell in quick, uneven breaths, every nerve in my body stretched thin. I wanted to say something—anything—but before I could, he finally turned away from me and faced Damien.

“I want a duel,” he said, his voice low but sharp enough to cut through air. “Whoever wins… can have her.”...